Have you ever been unable to think of how to spell the simplest of words? One in particular has stayed in my memory for many, many years. What was the word? It was was. Yes, indeed. It was approximately 40 years ago and I was handwriting a letter (ah, back in the day) and I could NOT think how to spell the word: was. I even tried writing it different ways on a scratch pad: wuz and wus. LOL
And, so about a month ago, I decided to put some flour in my beautiful Longaberger pottery jar and store it on my baker's shelf. Once again, for the life of me, I could NOT think of how to spell flour. One thing I knew for sure, it wasn't flower. After practicing a time or two, again on a scratch pad, I decided on: flouer. Looks kind of fancy, huh?!
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If you mail padded envelopes or boxes, or anything other than the usual letter or post card, and you are given a receipt, here's a possible lesson to learn from me.
I've mailed many copies of my memoir in padded envelopes and they always ship Media Mail, which is the least expensive way to mail books. (Hurray for the post office!) The price is almost always the same, as long as the recipient is in the US, so there's never been a huge price difference. This is an important piece of information for the story I'm sharing!
I always look over my receipt after I get back inside my car, just to make sure all the info is correct. There's all kinds of information on the LONG receipt, which includes city names and zip codes. One time, I saw the city name: Rockville, MD with zip code 20849. I thought Huh? I didn't have an envelope to ship there! It was a mystery for a few seconds until I realized the postal clerk must've keyed in the wrong zip code. I'd written one for Greenfield, IA 50849. So, I walked right back into the post office and talked with the same clerk, showing her my receipt and explaining it all. She thanked me for bringing it to her attention and took care of it. Whew.
Had I not looked it over, and just went by the cost of shipping, I have a feeling that envelope would've been lost forever in The Never Never Land of Lost Mail.
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"Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination." -- Mark Twain
